×

Poetry outloud

Minot High student to compete in state poetry competition

Andrea Johnson/MDN Autumn Schreiner, a junior at Minot High School-Magic City Campus, will compete in the state Poetry Out Loud Competition on Monday in Bismarck at the North Dakota Heritage Center.

Poetry Out Loud competitor Autumn Schreiner said she just fell in love with the poem “All Hallows’ Eve” by Dorothea Tanning.

“I really like the imagery that it gave,” said Schreiner, a junior at Minot High School-Magic City Campus, who will compete on Monday in the state Poetry Out Loud competiton in Bismarck. ‘Lightning’s thousand sulfur eyes’ … (It talks about how) people tell you to be perfect, but you can’t always be perfect.”

Marj Bubach, her Advanced Placement English teacher, assigned the class to select a poem from the Poetry Out Loud website, memorize it and recite it aloud to the class.

Schreiner said she decided to have fun with the assignment once she found the poem and was so struck by it. Her performance in class was so good that Bubach urged her to enter the school’s poetry recitation competition, which she went on to win.

“She said, ‘Go further. I’d like it if you went further,'” said Schreiner, so she did.

Schreiner also performs in school plays and in speech competitions. She said she loves English classes and reading.

She thinks people often think poetry is a dry subject, but they should give the art a chance.

“The fundamental purpose of poetry is communication,” said Schreiner. “To get emotions out, to get a story out.” She said people should go find a poem they love and enjoy it.

The Poetry Out Loud competition has been held at Minot High for six years, said English teacher Jake Thomas.

Poetry Out Loud, presented in partnership with the North Dakota Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation, is part of a national program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, recitation, performance, and competition.

Schreiner will compete against 17 other students at the state competition on Monday at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck. The state competition, which is free and open to the public, begins with two semi-final rounds of oral recitation at 9:30 a.m. Monday and concludes at 11:30 a.m., followed by a lunch break. The final round of competition begins at 1:30 p.m. and concludes with a short performance by poet Tanaya Winder. At 2:30 p.m., awards will be presented to the five top finalists.

Each winner at the state level receives $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip with an adult chaperone to Washington, D.C. to compete in the National Poetry Out Loud Competition. The state winner’s school receives a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. The first runner-up receives $100, with $200 for his or her school library. A total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends is awarded annually at the National Poetry Out Loud Finals.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today